Date September Distance 14 km | Event type Mountain Established 1895 | |
 | ||
Course records 1:25:34 (M), 1:43:25 (F) | ||
The Ben Nevis Race is a mountain race that takes place annually, from the foot of the highest mountain in the British Isles to the top, then back again. The course is 14 km long and includes around 1,340 metres of ascent. Up to six hundred people may compete in the event.
Contents
History
The first timed event on Ben Nevis was in 1895. William Swan, a barber from Fort William, made the first recorded timed ascent up the mountain on or around 27 September of that year, when he ran from the old post office in Fort William to the summit and back in 2 hours 41 minutes. The following years saw several improvements on Swan's record, but the first competitive race was held on 3 June 1898 under Scottish Amateur Athletic Association rules. Ten competitors ran the course, which started at the Lochiel Arms Hotel in Banavie and was thus longer than the route from Fort William; the winner was 21-year-old Hugh Kennedy, a gamekeeper at Tor Castle, who finished (coincidentally with Swan's original run) in 2 hours 41 minutes.
Regular races were organised until 1903, when two events were held; these were the last for 24 years, perhaps due to the closure of the summit observatory the following year. The first was from Achintee, at the foot of the Pony Track, and finished at the summit; It was won in just over an hour by Ewen MacKenzie, the observatory roadman. The second race ran from new Fort William post office, and MacKenzie lowered the record to 2 hours 10 minutes, a record he held for 34 years.
The Ben Nevis Race has been run in its current form since 1937. It now takes place on the first Saturday in September every year. It starts and finishes at the Claggan Park football ground on the outskirts of Fort William, and is 14 kilometres (8.7 mi) long with 1,340 metres (4,400 ft) of ascent.
In 1955, Kathleen Connochie, was the first woman to finish the course.
Rules
Due to the seriousness of the mountain environment, entry is restricted to those who have completed three hill races, and runners must carry waterproofs, a hat, gloves and a whistle; anyone who has not reached the summit after two hours is turned back.
In 2014 only 600 competitors were allowed to take part, with the limit being set for safety reasons.
In 2016, competitors were asked to stay off the area known as the Grassy Bank, after Scottish Natural Heritage contacted race organisers with concerns about erosion in that area.
Results
In 2015, Finlay Wild of Lochaber Athletic Club won his sixth successive race in a time of 1 hour 30 minutes and 56 seconds.
Fort William taxi driver Eddie Campbell won the race three times, the first in 1952.
The course records were set in 1984, when Kenny Stuart and Pauline Haworth, both of Keswick Athletic Club won the men's and the women's races with times of 1:25:34 and 1:43:25 respectively.
As of 2016 there are one hundred people who have completed at least 21 of the races, each of these athletes has been presented with a Connochie Silver Plaque.
The winners of the race have been as follows.